


to change this lonely life

by aberm



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 80's Levihan, Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, I DEFINITELY WROTE THIS TO BE THE 1000 FIC FOR LEVIHAN SUE ME, Other, but it's still fluffy, i just wanted to write about these two falling in love damn it, idk why i set it in the 80s but whatevs, im shitty at writing but have this and enjoy it anyways, im too lazy to do much with this, non-binary Hange, they write each other notes it SICK, yooo this is shit tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 20:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11066739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aberm/pseuds/aberm
Summary: Levi gets a new neighbor. Non-binary Hange. 80's Levihan.





	to change this lonely life

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IDEA CAME TO ME AND NOW IT'S YOURS TO READ.  
> For warning, this is crap but it's my crap and i'm proud.

_Sometime in the mid 80's..._

He's observant enough to notice the truck parked outside in front of the building, but he doesn't care. The tea holds his attention all morning, anyway. 

He does spare a shuddering glance toward the boxes of things littering the hallway on his way to work. 

He doesn't recognize the person he bumped shoulders with along the way as the owner of all said boxes. 

Levi grunts a harsh remark to the person, as if he wouldn't ever see them again. 

...

Moving day was a disaster from the start. 

Boxes, boxes, boxes _everywhere_ and only a single soul to help out. 

Granted, their third companion is busy with work, so no blame can be placed accordingly. 

Hange smiles when the last box is moved inside by Mike. They thank him profusely while he asks about dinner. 

"Oh! Right! Food! Uh..." they glance around and shrug. "I saw a pizzeria down the street on our way here." 

Mike smiles. 

...

The hallway is cleared, thank god. 

Levi doesn't stop to think more of it until his keys are shoved into the key hole and he looks over his shoulder to see the apartment across the hall with the door wide open. 

He can see that all of the boxes that sat in the hallway earlier is now stuffed inside of the apartment. 

The mental calculations in his head leaves him with one result: someone new has moved in. 

Someone new has moved in. 

_Someone new._

Levi rushes inside and locks his door. 

Later, when he can't stop thinking about it, he makes his way across the hall, closes the door, and tapes a note to it. 

...

_Close your fucking door when you're not here, idiot._

...

A knock startles him. 

For a moment, Levi is stunned and doesn't move. 

He glances at the clock and reads that it's about 1:30 in the morning. 

Narrowing his eyes, Levi decides that this ought to be important. It damn better be. 

He opens the door and is almost knocked back by an enormous, flashing smile and a pair of large goggles. 

"Hello! Is this your note? Thank you for helping me out! I knew I forgot to do something while I was out at the pizzeria, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Also, sorry about the boxes. I only managed to wrangle up one of my friends to help me out." 

The grin is blinding and Levi fixes this disheveled person a certified glare. He's quite proud of his glare, really. He's spent years perfecting it. 

This four-eyed...human figure is very non-appreciative. 

"Um...what the fuck?" Is the very first thing out of Levi's mouth. 

They blink a little perplexedly and then quickly recovers. 

"Is this note not from you? Well, going by what you just said, this note sure sounds like it came from you. It was very rude, but I do appreciate it, nonetheless." The smile is back. Levi is blinded. 

He stares at the note that is stuck to the lapel of their blazer. Next to the note, Levi finds a stain. 

"Tch. Yeah, that's from me. And if you keep leaving your door wide open, then you are an idiot. Nothing rude about that." 

His fingers itch to slam the door, but he holds out just a tad bit longer. 

"I suppose you're right. Well, thanks anyway! I'm glad to see that I have a neighbor who can look out for me!" 

His patience is gone and Levi doesn't miss the fall of their face when he lets the door bang shut. 

...

The following morning, Levi finds a note tapped to his door when he is leaving for work. 

He crumples it and it finds its way into a trash bin outside of the building. 

...

_I'm Hange, by the way!_

...

Hange wakes up to the sound of somebody banging on a door. 

Listening closely, they can hear that it is not their door being banged on. 

They look through the peep-hole to see a tall blonde male in a suit, pounding away on their across the hall neighbors door. 

"I believe he's not home," 

The blonde jumps at the unsuspecting voice and turns to find a brunette with silver framed glasses leaning on their door frame. 

"Oh, you must be his neighbor. Do you know where he is? He should've been off from work an hour ago..." 

"Is he expecting you?" 

"No...he was suppose to help me out yesterday, but he never came over. I know he isn't particularly fond of get togethers, but this was my girlfriend's book party. She wanted it to be perfect." 

Without missing a beat, Hange replies. "Oh, sorry about that. He was with me." 

The man raises a perfectly thick eyebrow. 

Hange can sense his doubt, so they rapidly form a convincing story. 

"I just moved in, as you can see," they gesture to the dozens of unopened boxes in their apartment, "and he helped me out. I got him pizza afterwards as a thank you." 

The man is silent for a few moments. He glances at the note that Hange kept tapped on the wall next to their door, and Hange stiffens. 

"I'm Hange! Or Hanji. Either is nice." 

He takes their outstretched hand and shakes it. 

"Erwin Smith. Let him know I came by, yeah? Sorry about the banging." 

"That's okay. My nap was due to end, anyway." Hange says, forming their award winning smile that always managed to put others at ease. Hange is quite proud of their smile. 

"Goodbye, Hange." Erwin nods at them and walks away. 

...

Levi grumbles at something that annoyed him earlier when he literally runs into Erwin on his way out of his building. Levi's mouth twitches and his heart drops only slightly. 

"Erwin..."

"Hey, Levi. Don't worry about yesterday, okay? Your neighbor already explained it to me." 

Levi stays silent. 

"Uh, Hange? Was it? Yeah, she...or he? Uh, said that you helped them out yesterday. I even saw your note about making sure their door is closed. Sweet. I'll tell Marie about it, so she won't be too mad." 

Levi stays silent, and manages a nod. 

"Well, I have to go. Have a good night, Levi." 

Levi watches him go. After a few minutes, he turns and walks into his building. 

...

That night, when Hange leaves to pick the lock of the door to the roof, they find a note tapped to their door. 

Hange smiles. 

...

_Levi._

...

He regrets pasting that damn note to Hange's door, because now every time they see him anywhere, they yell the same goddamn thing. 

"Leeevvviiiiii!" 

Ignoring them doesn't help, he learns rather quickly. 

This time, they run into each other in the laundry room. 

They kick the door open, and it slams on the wall. Hange spots him over the basket of dirty clothes, standing in front of an occupied dryer. 

"Leeevvvvvviiiii! Nice day to laundry, eh?" 

They dump their pile of laundry onto the long, wooden table and grin. 

Levi spares them a glance and grunts. 

"Phew! Lot's to wash!" 

Levi begrudgingly watches Hange from the corner of his eye while they get to work on one of the washing machines. He can see they're grabbing armfuls of clothing and stuffing it all in one machine. Whites with color and color with whites. 

Levi visibly blanches and lets out a growl. 

"What the hell, shitty glasses, do you not know how to do your fucking laundry?!" 

He pushes them aside and sticks his hand into the washer without thinking. Fishing around for a colored piece of clothing, Levi retracts his hand. 

For a single moment, he is paralyzed. 

"Hey, I've been looking for those! They're my nicest pair!" Hange said excitedly, pointing at the content on Levi's hand. 

He's holding a red lace pair of panties. A _dirty_ red lace pair of panties. 

"Well, my only pair, really." 

Levi doesn't remember much after that, only that he wakes up laying on an unfamiliar couch. 

He looks around and finds that wherever he is, the place is a fucking mess. Levi looks on in horror as his eyes catch the very offending red lace panties lying on top of a messy coffee table. 

"Oh, you're up! Good!" Hange walks into the room and smiles at him. 

He suddenly wants to throw them down and escape this disgusting hell. 

Instead, he watches them stroll over and sit on the opposite end of the couch. 

"You fainted. I think because you were unintentionally holding my used underwear. Luckily, I was close enough to catch you so you didn't hit the floor." 

"Why am I here?" 

They snorted. "I don't have the key to your apartment, sorry. And I didn't want to leave you down there. You needed somewhere comfortable to lay on, so I carried you up here." 

Levi nods a little understandingly, but still annoyed at the situation. 

"You know, most men would be excited to be holding a pair of red panties. Some might even get more excited to know that they've been used," Hange chuckles. 

Levi shoots them a glare. "I don't get excited about holding something filthy." 

Hange laughs loudly this time, startling him. 

"You were the one going through the washing machine filled with filthy clothes, so you asked for it."

Levi cringes at the truth of the statement. "Fair point." 

The silence is definite, and for the first time, Levi doesn't really like it. 

He wracks his brain for something to say or do, and while looking intently at Hange, he figures something out. 

"So, um...I'm not trying to sound like a creep or a bastard or anything, but uh, what are you?" 

The glint of their glasses catches his eye and he suddenly wants to be swallowed up by a dark hole. 

"In terms of what, dear?" Hange tilts their head, and forms a knowing smirk. 

Levi gulps audibly and tries again. 

"I mean, your gender. Male or female?" 

They giggle. The soft giggle catches him off guard. 

"Right. This...may confuse you, I'm afraid. But I'll tell it like it is," 

Levi waits patiently for them to continue as they take a moment to gather their thoughts. 

"I don't necessarily fall into either gender specifically. Some days I feel more masculine, some days I feel more feminine, and other days I feel neither. You understand the 'she' pronouns and the 'he' pronouns, obviously. There's another option, which I tend to lean more towards. I would like you and everyone else to refer to me as they/them. It's a neutral term, which fits me well, since I'm gender neutral. I don't follow the typical binary gender system we've established in our society, and it's okay if you slip up sometimes. I won't bite your head off or anything." 

This time, they wear a small smile. A...nervous? Smile? 

Levi doesn't like it. 

"I...understand. I've read about this. And...I respect it. I respect you, Hange." 

The smile grows brighter. 

Levi does like it. 

...

Levi was finally dozing off in his bed when he suddenly remembered something. 

He left his laundry in the laundry room. 

Before he can make it pass his front door, he almost trips over something. 

He looks down and sees his clean, dry laundry in his basket sitting on the floor. He also sees a note tapped to the door. 

...

_Here's your forgotten laundry! I still don't have access into your apartment, of course._

__

__

_P.S.,_

_Don't worry; everything's in there. Even your underwear :)_

... 

Over the next couple of weeks, the neighbors grow closer. 

Meetings in passing turn into lengthy conversations, that turn into late night talks, that turn into impromptu sleep overs that doesn't leave behind a lingering awkwardness as a result. 

Hange practically lives for these moments, and Levi doesn't mind it at all. He rather looks forward to it, too. 

During their joint nights, Hange manages to convince Levi to join them on the roof of their building. 

Technically, no one's allowed up there, if the lock on the door wasn't an indication. But Hange picks it like it's nothing and gestures for Levi to go through first before they follow right behind. 

The first thing to greet him are the stars. When he scans the roof top, his eyes land on the moon. Hange whistles lowly and says something quite poetic. 

They follow it up with a random, useless fact about the galaxy and Levi snorts at how typical this whole situation was. 

Classic Hange, talking all this science shit. 

"Here, I brought this blanket, remember?" 

They spread it out on the ground of the roof and looked to Levi hopefully. 

"Lay down and watch the solar system with me?" 

He's smart enough to know that watching the entire solar system from here is a stretch, but he lays down beside them, anyway. 

He lets them thread their fingers with his, and from here, the stars seem to align just right. 

...

"What's with the goggles?" Levi asks. 

Hange stills for a moment and then resumes writing their notes for their latest experiment. 

"I wear it when science things are happening. Like, taking science notes." 

"Tch." Levi turns his attention back to his cup of tea. 

The only sound in the room is the scratching of Hange's pen as they hastily scrawl in a worn notebook. 

"What's wrong with just wearing your regular shitty glasses?" 

Hange doesn't stop writing. "When you say it like that, then why _would_ I wear my regular _shitty_ glasses?" 

Levi almost feels a bit guilty for using that word to describe something that belongs to them and helps them to see, but when he looks over at them to contemplate apology, they are smirking and obviously keeping down a laugh. 

He turns his attention back to his cup of tea again. 

"Tch. _Shitty glasses_." 

"Clean freak." 

Levi's life is never the same. 

... 

Hange is late again, unsurprisingly. 

Making sure to grab the package of dead grasshoppers for the lab tarantulas to snack on, they bolt out of the apartment. 

A flash of white tapped to their door catches their eye. 

Hange reads it and barks out a laugh. 

"I'm keeping this one," they say and leave it tapped to the door to retrieve later. 

...

_In terms of insults via nicknames,_

__

__

_Shitty glasses > clean freak_

_You're shit at it._

... 

Levi hears a familiar loud cackle coming from the hallway. 

He goes up to his front door and listens closely. 

"Shh! Hanji! Please be a _little_ more courteous to your neighbors, okay?" 

The clock on the wall reads that it's after 1:30 in the morning. Levi swings his door open and sees a blonde trying to steady a very drunk Hange while she attempts to unlock their door. 

"Oi. Need a hand?" 

The blonde turns to Levi and smiles gratefully. 

"Yes, please." 

They manage getting Hange onto their bed in one piece, despite their numerous protests and wanting to hang out of their window. 

"Thank you. I'm Nanaba, by the way. Are you Levi?" 

He nods. 

"Hange talks about you. Says you help them out a lot. I guess, thank you for taking care. I mean, they're plenty capable of taking care of themselves, of course, but Hange needs someone like you." 

He nods at that also and offers to keep looking out for Hange as long as they are neighbors. 

_Even beyond neighbors_...is a distant thought in his mind. 

Nanaba smiles and politely asks Levi to leave so she can change Hange and herself into some sleepwear. Levi figures that she will be sleeping over and obliges. 

Before he leaves, he fixes two glasses of water and wishes them a good night. 

...

The following afternoon, Hange goes over to Levi's with a box of pizza and a cheap bottle of wine. A way of 'thanks for last night' by Hange Zoe. 

For the rest of the day they talk, eat, and play cards. Levi picks up his TV guide and flips through it. There's a slasher film playing that night and he wonders if Hange likes slasher films. He asks and they do. 

They're huddled on his couch with all of the lights off. 

"To set the appropriate atmosphere," Hange said. 

By the time the third gory kill is shown on screen, Hange is already dozing off on Levi's shoulder. 

He stares down at them. With their glasses askew, Levi gently takes them off of their face and places them on the coffee table. The sudden shift of Levi's shoulder is enough to wake them up a bit. Hange looks up at him with squinting eyes and wears a sleepy grin. 

"Hey, did they find out who dunnit?" 

"No. There's still 40 minutes left of the movie." 

"Mmm..." Hange arches their back to stretch, snuggling back into Levi's side when they finish. 

An odd, familiar twinge surges inside of Levi, leaving him a bit stunned. A flush of a rosy color tints his pale cheeks. He can feel the tips of his ears burning, and the unsteady thumping of his heart. It's cheesy to realize, but Levi can very well distinguish this certain feeling. 

Crush. 

"Damn it," he mutters under his breath. 

"Hmm?" 

He quickly looks down to see Hange's eyes are closed. 

"Nothing." 

Levi wants to move and lock himself in his bedroom, but instead he drapes an arm over Hange and cradles them closer. 

They fall asleep to the sound of another victim being slaughtered on the television screen. 

... 

Levi trudges along the hallway tiredly, just getting home from a particular long day of work and running errands. He's had a very long, and draining week. 

He finds the note before he can even reach his door. 

Letting out a long, hard sigh, Levi turns around and makes his way down the hall where he came from. 

...

_Meet me on the roof!!_

__

__

_Special surprise!!_

_\- Hange :)_

...

He finds them laying on a blanket, their hands folded and resting on their stomach, and their eyes glued to the dark sky. A boombox playing low music sat on crate next to them. 

Hange lifts their head gently to see Levi standing by the entrance door. 

"Hey! You're upside down. Come lay with me and watch the sky. The moon's pretty big tonight." 

Levi doesn't say a word and complies. 

It's silent, except for the radio, for a while. Hange tilts their head to face Levi, who kept their eyes straight ahead on the stars. 

"I know you've had a sucky week. You even came home really late today. But we're gonna relax right now. Just us, and the galaxy." Hange turns their attention back to the sky and smiles. 

Levi closes his eyes and prepares a giant breath. Hange notices this and can't help but worry a bit. 

"I'm sorry you're stressed---"

"Hange." He interrupts them. 

"Yeah?" 

Levi reaches for Hange's hand and intertwines their fingers together. He gives them a soft squeeze for good measure. 

"Thank you," he whispers. 

Hange can see tears forming in his eyes, but they don't say anything about it. They scooch closer to Levi and lay their head on his chest. 

They watch the moon and the stars and don't mind that they've done this a million times. 

This time, Foreigner accompanies them with their newest ballad. 

_In my life there's been heartache and pain_  
_I don't know if I can face it again_  
_Can't stop now, I've traveled so far_  
_To change this lonely life_

It's cheesy, but Levi mouths the words to it perfectly. 

...

Levi sort of panics. Not a full blown yelling and screaming kind of panic, but a more internal one. Internal yelling and screaming. He feels his pulse and it feels rapid. 

Hange. 

He really, _really_ likes them. It's almost a problem.

He curses and buries himself deeper under his covers. He can practically hear Hange cackling over something in their apartment. 

Holding this in is proving painful for the guy, and he knows he has to do something about this. Levi's not the one to hang back and let anything eat away at him, especially if it's something like love. He's...professed love to girls before. He can recall a certain ginger in college whom he took a great liking too, and that worked out fine for the time being. Of course, after a while, the romance sizzled out and she moved away. He was down for a little bit, but got right back up and proceeded with life. 

This was just a tad different though. 

Firstly, Hange isn't a just a girl. Or, isn't _really_ a girl. They're biologically female, yes. But their gender is fluid. They're much more than a girl. 

Secondly, Hange is the first person to earn his trust at such a quick pace. Levi feels as if he can say anything at all to them and they wouldn't judge him for it. They'd be there. Levi likes that. 

They aren't disturbed by his personality or gentle with him because of it. They weren't phased when they first met, and they were never offended by anything he said, or thought of him as an asshole or found him too crude or too rude or too scary. They met him and got to know him _willingly_. They invite him to hang out, and listen to him when he wants to rant, and allows him to unwind and relax. To be himself. To be Levi. 

Burying himself further into his bed can be done at a later time, because right now he's getting up and storming out. 

Because Levi is quite shit with words, he takes his pen and pad with him. 

... 

After hanging up the phone with Mike and Nanaba, Hange wonders what Levi may be doing. They want to see him and is about to make the effort when a knock interrupts their thought process. 

Hange opens the door a sees Levi with his usual grumpy expression. This time, somehow, he looks a bit softer. Hange wants to scoop him up and hug the grumpiness away. 

"Leeevvviii! I was just about to come over and knock on your door myself!" 

He doesn't say anything but nods to the door. Hange is confused for a moment and follows his line of sight. 

There's a note tapped to the door. How could they miss that? Even _with_ the glasses their eye sight is shitty, huh? 

Hange reads it and gasps. They quickly face Levi while he stares at them. 

"Really? Are you sure?" Hange is stunned. Floored. Completely beside themselves. 

All Levi gives them is a nod and a small smile. 

Hange practically shrieks and throws their arms over him, swallowing Levi into an infamous Hange hug. 

(The grumpiness is gone and Levi actually _laughs_. Hange almost faints.)

"That's enough, Hange. Let's go before they close." 

They gladly put them down. "Okay! Hey, do they offer french fries? I can't remember if they do. I haven't had french fries in over a week. I need my fix." 

"You sound like you're on drugs,"

"Haha, nah. I'm on fire with my latest research, though. Do you wanna hear this?" 

"Even if I say no, you still won't be able to shut up about it." 

"That's fair. Okay, so you know about Moblit, right? My assistant?" 

"Yeah. I feel bad for the guy."

"Wha-? Oh, piss off, shorty! Anyway,"

At some point they joined hands and Levi observes this with much attention. 

He smiles. 

...

_Hey, Shitty Glasses._

__

__

_I like you. Let's go on a date._

_Pizza?_

_\- Levi._

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhh i freaking love these two and i would DIE FOR THIS SHIP. 
> 
> This was super cheesy and im gonna go lie down for a while.


End file.
